Critique the electoral process in the U.S. and suggest improvements. [Dates earlier than 2012 are spurious. I predated posts to arrange them in 'book order', but the result was unsatisfactory. Ignore the dates, focus on the content.]

Practical
Democracy is an electoral process through which the people actively
participate in the conduct of, and impress their moral sense on, their
government. It creates a unique merger of self-interest and the public
interest and lets each of us share in the practice of politics to the
full extent of our desire and ability.

The process lets the public discuss substantive matters - with a purpose.
It gives participants time for deliberation and an opportunity to
understand the rationale for the positions of others. Participants
consider both common and conflicting interests, and, because the process
is intrinsically bidirectional, it gives advocates of conflicting
interests a continuing voice. At the same time, it encourages the
absorption of diverse interests, reducing them to their essential
element: their effect on the participants in the electoral process.
There are no platforms, there is no ideology. The only question is,
which participants are most attuned to the needs of the community and
have the qualities required to advocate the common good.

The cost
of conducting an election by this method is free to the participants,
except for the value of their time, and minimal to the government. The
length of time taken to complete an election compares favorably with the
time required by campaign-based partisan systems.

Practical
Democracy lets every member of the electorate affect the electoral
process to the full extent of their desire and ability. That is the
essence of a democratic political process.

Full Disclosure: I
wrote Practical Democracy. However, the opinion that it is
'interesting' was confirmed by Jane Mansbridge who was good enough to
say:

"Thank you for sending it to me. It's the most innovative democratic idea I have seen in decades."

Dr.
Mansbridge is author of Beyond Adversary Democracy and other works on
democracy and is the Adams Professor of Political Leadership and
Democratic Values at Harvard University.